The punchline to the old joke about how you can tell when a politician is lying is when his mouth is moving is just as apt for Palestinian Arab leaders whenever they talk about a true victory.

But maybe lying is the wrong word. Maybe Ismael Haniyeh, the Hamas leader who just claimed victory, was watching a different channel, one on which Israel barely played a minor role.

After one month of war against Israel in which Hamas greatly depleted its weapons arsenal, with very little militarily to show despite having launched thousands of rockets, and with schools, hospitals, a university and entire neighborhoods obliterated because Hamas embedded their fighters amongst civilians, Ismael Haniyeh is claiming victory in the Summer 2014 War.

How is that possible?

Because the achievement of strategic objectives through military means is not what Hamas was after.

The Hamas leadership knows that if enough of their people are killed, and enough of their neighborhoods are destroyed, the entire world will sit on Israel’s hands and force it to do several things: one, withdraw from Gaza; two, make concessions it would not have agreed to before it was forced into beating Hamas; and three, watch as even more huge boatloads of foreign aid is poured into the Gaza strip to “rebuild Gaza’s infrastructure,” which really means replenish its arsenal.

From that perspective, Haniyeh is not wrong to take a victory lap.

What were the true objectives of Hamas? One of those was certainly the lifting, or at least the relaxing, of the blockade of Gaza.

Haniyeh addressed that issue in his victory statement issued on Tuesday, August 4:

“The military victory by the resistance, and the legendary strength of our people will lead us to a lifting of the blockage on the Gaza Strip,” said the former prime minister of Hamas, through an official statement released through Hamas media.

Of course, that success is yet to be revealed. Will there be a reduction in restrictions? Perhaps Egypt will gin up some way of making it look as though that happened. The reality, of course, is something else, as Egypt is less reluctant to be brutal to Gazans than is the IDF.

Haniyeh also said that Palestinian unity helped reach the agreement in Egypt. “A unified people stood behind our delegation in Cairo. We complied with all the diplomatic procedures and contacted our brothers in Qatar and Turkey and, now, in Egypt in order to end the aggression.” They contacted Egypt? Really? In a word, no.

The Gaza political leader stated that “what the enemy could not achieve on the physical battlefield it will not achieve in the diplomatic battlefield.” In the language of everyday people, that translates to “what Hamas could not achieve on the physical battlefield we can achieve on the diplomatic battlefield.” Because the party perceived as the underdog – the genocidal terrorists with a bloodthirsty governing document and the Ayatollah Khameini as its grand patron – is always coddled by the gullible West.

The leader of Hamas’ political bureau said: “I am confident that our Egyptian and Arab brothers all want to help lift the blockage permanently. We support the unified Palestinian delegation in order to produce the most appropriate diplomatic solution and to bring about a resolution that would reflect both the immeasurable sacrifices of our people and the work of the resistance. The delegation stuck to our demands.”

What he did not mention was that by not raising them, even Haniyeh has dropped the other unsupportable preconditions Hamas demanded for prior ceasefires.

Those other “preconditions” included the release of the rearrested Shalit exchange prisoners who were scooped up during the search for the three kidnapped teenagers in June and July; the release of the fourth wave of prisoners which had been part of the peace process aborted during the spring; the extension of maritime rights for “fishing” off of Gaza; and the building of an airport for the Gaza Strip. No mention of any of those by Haniyah on Tuesday.

About the Author:Lori Lowenthal Marcus is the US correspondent for The Jewish Press. She is a recovered lawyer who previously practiced First Amendment law and taught in Philadelphia-area graduate and law schools. You can reach her by email: Lori@JewishPressOnline.com

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81 Responses to “Hamas Claims Victory; It Defeated the West, Once Again”

They’ve won every war since 1947, doncha know? Arab/Islamic bragging is such a big part of the culture . The good part is that they don’t know defeat from victory, therefore they can’t really learn from defeat and properly prepare for the next battle. They simply never come to grips with why they are LOSING. So they keep on losing. The bad part is that their sense of dishonor at losing to hated infidels, most especially despised Jews reinforces the anger and rage they experience, so they pick themselves up, dust themselves off and “fight and lose” again and again and again. This is a nuisance that requires constant vigilance wherever Muslims attempt to spread their faith and political domination, which is everywhere they can, which is pretty much everywhere. So, vigilant we must be

It looks like alot oc people didn’t either read the article or didn’t understand it. They won a propaganda victory and will probably milk it for an increase in Welfare, oops, I meant UN and other foreign aid. That may well have been their objective from the start.

It looks like alot oc people didn’t either read the article or didn’t understand it. They won a propaganda victory and will probably milk it for an increase in Welfare, oops, I meant UN and other foreign aid. That may well have been their objective from the start.

David Cohen exactly! People must read the title and start commenting. They got exactly what they wanted and didn’t care how many rockets were wasted nor how many Palestinian women and children were killed in the process as long as the west condemned Israel and felt sorry for them.

ha ha ha, then how come negotiate for a cease-fire? 1800 palestinian death as compared to 60 plus Israeli and a rubbled Gaza, how come their balance sheet gives them victory? Whose the ACCOUNTANT they hired for it?

Well if the Stupid Idiots won ? Then why did so many of them lose their lives ? Over a thousand in fact and on 65 Jews and why has Gaza been turned into dust and ashes ? All these Idiots have is arrogance and plenty of that .

Hamas, boast not in yourselves but boast only in the LORD of Lords, and King of kings otherwise you may find yourselves falling off your self made pedestals. Let us face it Hamas, you and other Muslims really want to become Jews when it comes down to it and then you could put Jewish brains and Muslim brains to work together on something really good for all people. Fess up that I am right.

In No way did they win anything ! Either by themselves or against the West , yes the innocent defenseless ones deserve help ,pity and prayers, But as far Hamas goes ; they Won **** , they only brought chaos and ruin upon the Palestinian people,

THIS MAN IS REALLY INCENSE, IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL VICTORY? ISRAEL DAMAGED GAZA BEYOND REPAIRED, CAN’T YOU SEE WHAT HAS TOOK PLACE IN GAZA? WHERE IS YOUR HOUSE? 150 OF YOUR MILITANTS WERE ARRESTED, THEY ARE SITTING IN ISRAELI JAIL, IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL VICTORY? GAZA LOST A LOT MAN, OPEN YOUR EYES AND SEE ONE MORE TIME. IF THIS VICTORY, THEN VICTORY HAS TURN INTO DEFEAT. WHAT WRONG WITH KHALED MASHAL? THIS MAN HAS LOST HIS MIND. THE WHOLE WORLD IS MAD AT ISRAEL FOR DESTROYING GAZA, THEN YOU SAY HAMAS WON,HAHAHAHAHA, TRY IT AGAIN. HAMAS IS THE PROBLEM TO THE GAZAN PEOPLE LIFE, THEY ARE TIRED WITH THIS HAMAS. HAMAS HAS TO GO. THE JEWS NEED TO LIVE PEACEFULLY. WE SUPPORT THE COST OF THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL. IN THE COST OF THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL, THE FIGHT WILL CONTINUED IF HAMAS STRIKES AGAIN. GOD BLESS ISRAEL

There is no glory in pretending to win when hearts are broken, a people are humiliated and further impoverished, their homes and lives ruined, their trust in their so-called leaders destroyed, their ignorance deepened, and the world has only pity and no praise for them. This spectacle is lamentable and everyone knows the truth deep down, though few will admit to it. To harbor such deep hatred, to plot the demise and destruction of some fictionalized enemy, to squander money, energy, time and resources, brings no gain. This is not a game of winning or losing, but of how long one is going to pursue their deadly drama and dream of ridding the world of a people who have given and continue to give, a great deal to humanity, only to discover that the dreaded enemy is much tougher and will not take the garbage any longer. The real winners? The Jews and the State of Israel have proven time and again how resilient, productive, life-affirming and forgiving they can be, especially during the worst events and unspeakable devastations endured over centuries.

Eli Beer stunned the 16,500 AIPAC conference participants by arriving on stage with lights and sirens blaring on an ambucycle, a specially equipped motorcycle ambulance designed by United Hatzalah to speed up emergency response times.